Many databases have been created that contain information about drugs, genes, and conditions, but because of the varying nomenclatures used for medical and biological terms and concepts, and the vast quantities of information involved, it is difficult for even a sophisticated oncologist (or other specialized practitioners) to use these databases to obtain complete information about available drugs and trials for conditions, or simply to be aware of new drug trials. The situation is even more challenging for a patient interested in researching potential treatment options.
For example, a practitioner may have a patient with breast cancer, and a biopsy may have indicated that the cancer is ER/PR-positive. While the practitioner may have been aware that tamoxifen may be an appropriate treatment, the practitioner may not also have considered anastrozole, which may also be effective in treatment of breast cancers that are also ER/PR positive. The practitioner may also be unaware of clinical trials testing alternative treatments for ER/PR positive breast cancer that may be enrolling participants to evaluate such treatments, and the patient may match the participant profile. It would be desirable for the practitioner to be able to enter a search for ER/PR-positive cancer using a variety of nomenclatures and gain access to information about drugs and trials that could be appropriate for the patient.
Accordingly, there is a need for systems that can synthesize information from disparate sources, and integrate this information in an intelligent way so that, for example, relevant information in a reference about a drug for treating a condition may be associated with second reference describing a trial currently testing that same drug, even if the drug is referred to using different nomenclature in the two references. There is additional need for systems that can relate information in various references based on biological or biochemical relationships, such as information pertaining to drugs falling within a particular class of drugs. Disclosed herein are embodiments of an invention that address those needs.